'Guest' Director Adam Wingard Signs On for 'Death Note' (Exclusive)

Adam Wingard, the cult director behind indie genre gems The Guest and You’re Next, has signed on to direct Death Note, an adaptation of a horror manga being developed at Warner Bros.

Roy Lee, Dan Lin, Jason Hoffs and Masi Oka are producing the project, which was previously adapted as movie in its home country of Japan, spawning a sequel.

The story centers on a student who discovers a supernatural notebook that allows him to kill anyone by writing the victim's name, who then decides to cleanse the world of whom he deems evil. As the student is tracked by a reclusive police officer, a cat-and-mouse game ensues.

Jeremy Slater (Fantastic Four) wrote the more recent draft of the script.

Shane Black was previously attached to direct.

Doug Davison and Brian Witten are exec producing. Niija Kuykendall and Nik Mavinkurve are overseeing for the studio.

Wingard, who also created segments of the horror anthologies V/H/S and The ABCs of Death, will first direct The Woods, a horror movie at Lionsgate that is due to shoot this summer. He wrote the script with longtime collaborator Simon Barrett.

Wingard is repped by CAA, manager Jeremy Platt of Plattform and Morris Yorn.